2  Findings

2.1 Findings

Out of the over 4 million parcels in Virginia, 22,453 were identified as likely owned by a faith-based organization — with a 95% confidence level that the true accuracy of the entire dataset lies between 99.03% and 100%. These findings were based on a keyword search with a process of retention and elimination based on known faith-based and secular entities. Some faith-based properties could be absent from the analysis due to terms or phrases not accounted for. However, the following represents a significant, if not an overwhelming majority, of parcels owned by faith-based organizations in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In total, these parcels amount to 74,116 acres of land. To put this into context, the City of Richmond is roughly 40,000 acres, meaning the identified parcels amount to nearly twice the size of Richmond.

2.1.1 By Planning District Commission

To investigate geographic patterns further, HFV utilized Virginia’s 21 planning district commissions (PDCs) to assign parcels to a geographic region. This is helpful because not all jurisdictions in Virginia are part of a metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area, whereas all jurisdictions are represented by at least one of the 21 PDCs. In addition, PDC boundaries represent an area wherein there are distinct socioeconomic patterns.

Figure 2.1: Map of Virginia PDCs

The Hampton Roads region exceeds its peers in the number of parcels owned by faith-based organizations at 3,332. The LENOWISCO and PlanRVA regions follow at just over 1,000 fewer parcels - 2,050 and 2,006, respectively.

Figure 2.2: Total faith-based owned parcels by PDC

These rankings change when we look specifically at acreage. The Northern Shenandoah Valley region rises to the top of list at just over 14,000 acres of land owned by faith-based organizations, while the PlanRVA region follows at 10,246. Hampton Roads still stays in the top three, but comes in at 7,602 acres. The LENOWISCO region falls down the list to the 17th region with the most acreage at only 1,606 acres. While the LENOWISCO region contains significantly more parcels than several of its peers, those parcels are undoubtedly smaller in area.

Figure 2.3: Total acres of faith-based owned parcels by PDC

Exploring individual parcel size gives a better understanding of opportunities for viable residential development. To do this, we explore the median parcel size rather than the average in order to account for outliers that may skew the results. By looking at the median parcel size, the rankings change once again. The Thomas Jefferson region has the largest parcels with a median size of 1.74 acres - just under the size of a FIFA standard soccer field (1.76 acres). The Northern Neck follows at 1.55 acres and the next six regions sit between 1.3 and 0.92 acres. The remaining regions have a median parcel size below 0.75 acres - with the LENOWISCO region have the smallest median parcel size at under 0.10 acres.

Figure 2.4: Median parcel size by PDC

At the local level, we can identify jurisdictions with significant acreage of faith-based owned parcels. Based on median parcel size, Goochland County leads its nearest peer by over 1.5 acres with a median parcel size of 7.18 acres. Cumberland County comes in at 5.5 acres. The PlanRVA region is well-represented among jurisdictions with large median parcel sizes - with Goochland, Powhatan, Henrico, New Kent, Hanover, and Charles City represented (6 of the 8 counties/cities within the PDC).

Figure 2.5: Top 15: Median parcel size by jurisdiction

The top ten organizations who own the most land in jurisdictions along the I-95/I-64 corridor are listed below.The Presbyterian League of the Presbytery of Eastern Virginia owns the most acreage with 12 parcels that amount to 3,429 acres in New Kent County.

Owner	Jurisdiction	Total Acres	Median Parcel Size	Number of Parcels
Presbyterian League Of The Pres.	New Kent	3429.02	285.75	12
New Kent Christian Center	New Kent	326.41	65.28	5
First Baptist Church Of Marshall Heights, D Drummond & A Teel, Tr	King George	265.36	265.36	1
New Life Church Of Hampton Trustees	Southampton	243.58	243.58	1
International Mission Board, S B C	Hanover	234.69	3.07	5
Southside Church Of Nazarene	Chesterfield	207.02	50.92	4
James River Baptist Church	James City	197.65	197.65	1
Saint Pauls Baptist Church	Henrico	177.39	49.10	4
The Edge Christian Camp Inc	Surry	167.69	167.69	1
Williamsburg Christian Retreat Assoc Inc	James City	158.48	158.48	1

Figure 2.6: Top 5: Parcel count by owners in

2.2 General Assembly Districts

The introduction of the Faith in Housing bill into the Virginia General Assembly presents an opportunity to also explore faith-based parcel ownership at based on house and senate districts. This provides state legislatures with a unique perspective on aspects of faith-based parcel ownership within their districts.

2.2.1 House Districts

2.2.2 Senate Districts

2.3 Northern Virginia

Conducting a spatial join in QGIS between the 652 identified parcels and the Northern Virginia Zoning Atlas resulted in 648 parcels retained. The four parcels that were removed were located in areas not covered by the Virginia Zoning Atlas, most likely to the area being deemed protected or undevelopable.

Figure 2.7: Total parcels by jurisdiction in the NVRC region

Figure 2.8: Total acres by jurisdiction in the NVRC region

Table 2.1: Percent of parcels zoned by-right by residential use and jurisdiction

Table 2.2